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AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PRODUCTION.
Relief Supplies
The progress in the return to health and well- being of the population generally since my arrival in the Colony, less than three weeks ago, (at the time of writing this note), has been very noticeable. This, of course, is the healthiest season of the year but the real factor has been the lifting of the bulk of the people from virtual starvation to a reasonable level of subsistence. was afforded from the earliest days of re-entry. of food are now almost plentiful and most prices have dropped to within the capacity of the humblest worker. The need for relief has declined and soon will almost vanish. I am told that in Hong Kong there is comparatively little real destitution at present; there are beggars but begging is a profession in this part of the world. are also many incapacitated from work through illness.
There
Rice is subsidized by Government and sold at a reasonable price, and fresh vegetables are becoming more plentiful. There is an excellent supply of fish of good quality. Street stalls are multiplying rapidly; indeed, the complaint of the sanitary staff is that they are so rapidly increasing as to be beyond control of the limited supervisory staff. Civil Affairs Administration has toned down the activities of the middle-men (or "laans") who were strangling the fisher-folk and have in mind to extend this process in other directions. What is short is good fat. Soya bean is in use and a fair supply of ground nut oil is available, but is still' rather expensive. oil has been used a good deal but coconut oil is practically
Cotton seed absent. Fork is available but is still well above the poor man's pocket.
There is no Director of Agriculture in Hong Kong and, of course, little cultivation is practised on the Island. On the mainland there are wide valleys devoted to agriculture. Two crops of padi are raised annually on this long-suffering soil and often ground crops are planted in between the seasons. When the padi is reaped and the ground lies fallow and ready for ploughing, armies of duck are marched over the fields. Each battalion has its human custodian, who collects his charges at night and surrounds them with a portable fench carried with him, together with his own camp gear. birds cover a few miles each day picking up the garnering
The of the fields, at the same time depositing in kind a contribution to future growth. Ultimately they arrive
at the market of Kowloon City, having grown from skinny fledglings to succulent birds ready for the table.
The Chinese follow their age-long cultivation and certainly lose nothing that art or nature can afford. Maybe some of their practices are outworn or unwise and perhaps growth and production can be even better combined with animal husbandry. I am no authority on these matters
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